Homebound Delivery

Homebound Delivery
What is it?

We will deliver library materials to your residence every two weeks or once per month depending on your needs. You can tell us your general preferences for library materials, or give us specific requests and we will strive to fulfill them. Marion Public Library provides this service free of charge to adults living within the city limits who have difficulty visiting the library or who live in a retirement or nursing home.

How does it work?

Start by calling the library at (740) 387-0992 to request homebound delivery. When you are being registered, let us know what types of materials you'd like to borrow from the library. Library staff will select your items and then deliver the materials right to your door!

What can I borrow?

Almost all library materials are available to homebound patrons. Books, magazines, audiobooks, and DVDs can all be delivered to patrons on this program.

What if I forget to return items?

Homebound patrons do not accrue fines. If you can't find an item, let us know so we can give you more time to look for it. All items are expected to be returned in the same condition as they were delivered.

Community Partnerships

We thank the Marion County Council on Aging for their contribution of $2,500 in grant funding to the Library’s homebound service for 2018. This donation enhanced the Library’s collection of large print books and audiobooks, which are used heavily by the homebound patrons.

Serving Our Community's Homebound Population

For many years, Marion Public Library has quietly provided an important service to a group of local residents. The Library’s homebound delivery service provides library materials to almost 60 community members who are physically unable to travel to the library. Library staff members get to know each patron’s reading tastes and favorite authors and genres. Then, items that match the patron’s interests are hand-picked and delivered every three weeks. Homebound patrons can also choose to receive magazines, audiobooks, and DVDs/Blu-rays.

The typical recipient of the service is elderly and usually resides in one of a number of assisted living facilities or nursing homes in Marion. Not everyone who receives deliveries fits this description, though, and everyone’s individual story is unique.

“I have been a reader since I was a small child, and to get the books I see advertised opens a whole new world for me. I get lost in books,” says Nanci, a local resident who has received the homebound service for the past 9 years. “I turn off the TV and it’s my quiet time,” she adds.

There are any number of issues that can keep people away from the Library. Diane Watson, Marion Public Library’s communications and marketing director, wants the community to know that they can still stay connected. “If you can’t come to us, we want to come to you,” Watson stated. While there is a limit to the number of residents that can be served in this manner, Watson said that there is still capacity to serve more patrons who meet the requirements.

Those requirements include having a physical or mental disability that prevents transportation to the Library. "Most people who are in an assisted living facility or nursing home qualify, but we also have a number of patrons who are still at home, just unable to get out and about,” commented Watson.

As for Nanci, her connection to the Library has helped her deal with the pain and discomfort she experiences on a daily basis, and she wants others to know that the service exists for them if they need it. Referring to her visits from Library staff, she states that “it would be my hope that people who can't get out would experience what I experience.”